This post has already been read at least 116 times!

As Nigeria’s political landscape braces for the 2027 general elections, the country’s major opposition voice — the Labour Party (LP) — appears to be in free fall. What was once hailed as a revolutionary force led by Peter Obi, now stands at the edge of implosion. Deep divisions, internal sabotage, and creeping apathy have left the party fractured, voiceless, and vulnerable to what insiders describe as an “orchestrated infiltration” by operatives linked to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

At the heart of the turmoil is Prince Tony Akeni, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of the Senator Nenadi Usman-led faction of the Labour Party. In an explosive pre-resignation memo dated October 9, 2025, and obtained exclusively by this newspaper, Akeni announced his intention to resign in protest, citing a deliberate conspiracy to silence the party’s media voice, cripple its visibility, and ensure its eventual collapse ahead of 2027.

“A Death Sentence by Silence” — Akeni’s Explosive Memo

Akeni’s memo, addressed to the party’s National Executive Council and Board of Trustees, accuses top figures within the interim National Working Committee (iNWC) of enforcing a “zero-budget policy” for the publicity department — effectively starving the party’s communication arm of resources.

“The zero-budget assertion and insistence of an unnamed iNWC member pertaining to the office of the National Publicity Secretary raises very disturbing questions,” Akeni wrote.

“Such person or persons are proxy agents of external rival parties planted to bring the Labour Party to its knees before decamping to the glittering nightclub lights of the ADC or APC.”

He revealed that since relocating from Edo State to Abuja on August 7, 2025, to perform his national duties, he has personally funded his accommodation and operations, relying solely on a ₦10,000 data token reportedly sent by Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku — the only form of support he received in over two months.

Akeni described this as a calculated ploy to “kill the Labour Party’s voice nationwide” and erase it from public consciousness, especially at a time when the ruling APC’s formidable propaganda machinery dominates the national political space.

Over 445 Days Without Congresses or Convention

The leaked memo also sheds light on the total paralysis that has gripped the Nenadi Usman faction since its inauguration in Umuahia on September 4, 2024.

According to Akeni, the interim leadership was mandated to organize state congresses and a national convention within 90 days. Yet, more than 445 days later, neither membership registration nor revalidation — prerequisites for such exercises — have commenced.

“The assignment given to the iNWC to conduct nationwide state congresses and an all-inclusive national convention has now spanned 445 days,” he wrote. “Yet membership registration and revalidation are not even close to commencement.”

This delay, Akeni claimed, was not accidental but a deliberate sabotage orchestrated by internal elements to frustrate the Nenadi Usman-led council and weaken its legitimacy, paving the way for the rival Barr. Julius Abure faction to reclaim visibility and influence.

Abure’s Recognition by INEC Sparks Fresh Outrage

The crisis reached a tipping point earlier this week when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), during a meeting with political party leaders, reportedly recognized Julius Abure as the national chairman of the Labour Party — a move that stunned the Nenadi faction.

Rather than mounting a coordinated response or mobilizing nationwide protests, Senator Nenadi Usman’s team issued only a mild protest letter, a decision Akeni derided as “timid and defeatist.”

“Why is Nenadi quiet as a mouse after Abure was recognized as LP national chairman?” he queried. “Why a protest letter instead of mobilizing seething Labour Party members nationwide to demand recognition after the Supreme Court and Federal High Court judgments ending Abure’s tenure?”

He warned that the leadership’s silence and indecision risked pushing the faction into total irrelevance — a development that, in his view, aligns perfectly with the interests of the ruling APC.

But on Thursday, the Senator Nenadi Usman-led faction of the Labour Party lol of INEC Acting Chairman, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, accusing her of criminal collusion with “former LP Chairman”, Julius Abure, over a purported fake court order. The faction alleged that Agbamuche-Mbu unlawfully invited Abure to an INEC meeting despite a Supreme Court judgment affirming Usman as the legitimate National Chairman. It challenged her to produce the alleged court order, vowing peaceful protests and urging the incoming INEC Chairman to address what it called a grave subversion of justice.

Peter Obi’s Leadership Under Fire

Perhaps the most incendiary part of Akeni’s memo concerns Peter Obi, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate and de facto national leader.

Akeni accused Obi of failing to exercise leadership or sustain party unity, alleging that elected LP members in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly have become “miserable, lonely orphans.”

“Members confess they are scarred and scared, isolated and dejected in their various legislatures,” the memo noted. “Obi’s lack of control and capacity to build and hold the party together has led to disarray, membership depletion and losses across the country.”

Akeni went further, predicting that Abia State Governor Alex Otti could soon join the wave of defections if the crisis persists, citing widespread disillusionment among party ranks.

The INEC Recognition Dilemma

The memo also details the ongoing INEC recognition crisis, which has rendered the Nenadi Usman faction practically invisible on the commission’s official platform.

Despite claiming “formidable institutional pedigree” and favorable court judgments, the faction has failed to secure INEC acknowledgment months after its formation. In contrast, both the Abure faction and even the ADC coalition have already achieved full recognition for upcoming elections through 2027.

Akeni lamented that this bureaucratic exclusion has resulted in massive membership depletion, as frustrated party loyalists defect daily to other parties in search of stability and recognition.

The Larger Picture — A Party in Freefall

The Labour Party’s crisis underscores a deeper systemic weakness in Nigeria’s opposition politics.

Analysts say President Bola Tinubu’s APC has capitalized on the disarray by exploiting divisions within the LP and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), ensuring that no cohesive opposition front emerges before 2027.

Akeni’s revelations feed into a broader narrative that the APC’s dominance extends beyond elections — infiltrating and neutralizing opposition movements from within.

With a demoralized base, dwindling finances, and a leadership embroiled in factional disputes, the Labour Party — once described as “Nigeria’s strongest opposition and the people’s party” — now teeters on the brink of political extinction.

“Before 2027 Becomes Another 2023” — Akeni’s Final Warning

In his closing remarks, Akeni urged the party’s leadership to reflect deeply and act decisively before it’s too late:

“Dear NEC and iNWC leaders, I urge you to have solemn reflections of the concerns expressed above and pray God to give you the wisdom and courage to act decisively before external forces ruin our party’s standing again in 2027 through internal forces akin to the 2023 election epoch.”

He signed off with the historic activist slogan: “Aluta Continua, Victoria Ascerta” — The struggle continues, victory is certain.

Yet, for the Labour Party today, that victory seems further away than ever with non-recognition of the Nenadi Usman leadership by INEC.

StreetReporters.ng

This post has already been read at least 116 times!